All Forum Posts by: Dave Nixon

Quote from @David M.:

@Dave Nixon

What other reits are you comparing?  what's an "online" eREIT? 50 sfh --- so like a market cap of 10mil?  That's a rounding error for most to all publically traded reits.  Are you looking at public or privately traded REITs?  For public, there are plenty of reviews out there.  And what sector are you looking at, specifically single family?

I am new to REIT investing so have not compared to other REITs. I was attracted to Roots REIT by the social benefits (Renter's equity) that aligns incentives to keep the properties in good condition. I like that renters get more than a fair shake and also that they will act more like owners than renters. I am planning to invest monthly and reinvest dividends at least initially. I am retired (age 69) and need to keep a little growth in my portfolio but would like to diversify away from the stock market a bit.

Quote from @Chris Seveney:

Quote from @Dave Nixon:

Recently came across Roots which is a online eREIT that currently owns about 50 single family homes near Atlanta GA. It rents out the homes and gives tenants in good standing an incentive to keep the homes up and in good condition by giving them some equity. You can invest small amounts and optionally reinvest dividends. It claims a 16% PA average return over its lifetime which is only a couple of years so far. There are also two other eREITs Arrived  that allows you to choose a property to invest in and Fundrise that offers a choice multifamily, industrial real estate or single family rentals respectively. Roots publishes a comparison article on their blog: 

Best REITs for 2023 – Compare Roots vs Fundrise vs Arrived Homes

Disclosure I just started investing in Roots.

My recommendation is to read the financial statements and balance sheets of the company. What a company "claims" what it provides can be very different. There are 100's of these types of funds available (some REIT's some funds) that are available.

Of course along with returns please make sure to consider risk.

Does anyone publish ratings for REITs similar to the way Weiss publishing ratings for banks and stocks and cryptos?

I was just looking at AirBNB in Myrtle Beach for a prospective golf trip and thought the AirBnB rates offered were high. Cheaper to get an $89 hotel room to share with a buddy (two queen beds) a block from the beach and stumbling distance to the downtown bars.

Recently came across Roots which is a online eREIT that currently owns about 50 single family homes near Atlanta GA. It rents out the homes and gives tenants in good standing an incentive to keep the homes up and in good condition by giving them some equity. You can invest small amounts and optionally reinvest dividends. It claims a 16% PA average return over its lifetime which is only a couple of years so far. There are also two other eREITs Arrived  that allows you to choose a property to invest in and Fundrise that offers a choice multifamily, industrial real estate or single family rentals respectively. Roots publishes a comparison article on their blog: 

Best REITs for 2023 – Compare Roots vs Fundrise vs Arrived Homes

Disclosure I just started investing in Roots.

Just my 2 cents feedback picking nits - in general it looks good and seems priced right.

I have no particular insight in that local market although I just sold a flip an hour north in Marion OH.

Confusing that there are two properties next door to each other both decorated identically and both for sale? Or maybe Zillow has the wrong photos for one of them?

Noticed there's a floor vent missing in one of them - will raise questions - new photos ASAP!

Grey on grey on grey is a bit severe for my taste - just my opinion - your staging could soften that a bit more maybe. 

Looks like it is near the current top asking prices for the neighborhood, but there are other properties with more baths or more sq ft. There is a lot of similar inventory available at lower prices although not yet rehabbed yet or as well. Some properties have recently sold for quite a bit more than you are asking - they all look extremely well staged. 

In game theory there is the concept of a zero sum game in which you can only win if someone else loses, for example poker. Actually poker is slightly negative sum since you have to pay the dealer a chip now and then. Real estate is not a zero sum game since prices mostly go up and there is cash flow and tax advantages even if prices don't go up. Renters generally lose financially over the long term but gain flexibility and also the ability to live somewhere they might not be able to buy. Anyone who doesn't play the game may be losing a huge opportunity.

California is yet to update it's meth clean up page, but it does seem to contain a contamination level of 1.5 micrograms per 100 square centimeters as a standard for presumably the max amount of residual methamphetamine.

https://www.dtsc.ca.gov/SiteCleanup/ERP/Clan_Labs....

For cleanup, there are lots of other state sites, e.g. OK:

http://www.deq.state.ok.us/lpdnew/MethLabs/meth.ht...

Seems like you need to air out the property, then maybe close it up and turn off the AC for a few days to get any remaining volatiles to evaporate, then air out again etc. and clean all surfaces and the vents/ductwork.

So they have paid rent 8 out of 8 months plus 7 late fees?

Do you need the on time cash flow to pay your obligations or are you just being a stickler for on time payment?

There are worse things than tenants who pay their rent, albeit only late.

I'm also a sw engineer just starting to look at real estate.

I expect obvious things are all ready out there like taking the median asking rent for a given property class like a 3 bed 2 bath SFR in anytown from craigslist and dividing it by the median asking price for such SFRs on zillow. Is that sort of thing already available someplace? Maybe even for free?

Does anyone have experience repurposing institutional buildings like schools, churches, or masonic halls?

Seems that these are often ridiculously cheap - but I'm thinking the market knows more than I do and they are cheap for a reason.

Churches are often beautiful buildings in great shape, but are very awkward to convert into a SFH or apartments.

Schools tend to be large projects requiring significant resources to remodel into apartments or senior facility and can be either in decent shape or quite run down.

Masonic halls are often very similar to commercial buildings but usually need a lot of rehab.

Also many of the bargains are in economically depressed or low/no growth areas.

But still the price on these can be so low that getting positive cashflow should be easy.

And there may be LIHTC (low income housing tax credits) available - anyone managed to snag any of those?